There is a song by Jennifer Nettles and Bon Jovi that always hits me square in the heart called “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” Every time I hear it, I think about Todd County, Kentucky. That little patch of ground, those backroads, and the people who made me who I am. I was not born there. […]
Who Says You Can’t Go Home? Read More »
Tonight I was watching a YouTube video of Johnny Paycheck singing, and my mind took me back to the mid-90s, I was working at the TV station when Johnny Paycheck came through Hopkinsville to play at the fair. He wasn’t the main attraction that year—he was tucked away in the big tent with the free
The Night I Flattened Johnny Paycheck’s Hat Read More »
I read something the other day that’s been on my mind ever since. It said that in just a few generations, our names won’t even come up in family conversations. That’s a hard truth to accept. I think about it sometimes when I walk through Cedar Grove Cemetery. There are rows and rows of stones
The Silence of Forgotten Generations Read More »
Back in the mid-90s, I was working at a TV station, and every summer we got the chance to cover something in Nashville called Fan Fair. If you’ve never been, it was one of the biggest events in country music back then. For several days straight, all the stars came into town, and the fans lined
All-Access in the 90s: A Country Music Story. Read More »
In the spring of 1980, I was back home in Todd County, Kentucky, spending my days in the corn and soybean fields, working for David Stokes. Life was simple—hot days on the tractor, the smell of fresh-turned dirt, and the steady rhythm of farming. Then one afternoon my cousin called from Texas. He was working
The Bull I Never Rode. Read More »
Growing up, I had two aunts on my mother’s side—Nancy and Carolyn. They were my mother’s sisters, but life worked out in a way that I spent much more time around Carolyn. Her son, my cousin Allen, was like a brother to me. I did see Nancy at family reunions and sometimes at Thanksgiving, but
Back in the early seventies, when we moved to Todd County, I found myself with a fascination most kids didn’t think twice about—box turtles. For those who don’t know, a box turtle is that special kind that can close itself up completely, drawing every bit of its body inside the shell until it looks like
The Turtle Orchard Read More »
It always starts the same way. You’re not thinking about the past. You’re just driving to the store, washing your car, sipping your coffee… and then it happens. That one song comes on. And just like that, you’re somewhere else. You’re not in 2025 anymore. You’re 17, riding shotgun in your best friend’s car or
The year was 1966. My Aunt Nancy Bivens, along with my grandma and grandpa, took a road trip from Todd County, Kentucky, to Oklahoma to visit my grandpa’s brother. One warm, sunny afternoon, they decided to enjoy a peaceful picnic down by the river. After driving for a couple of hours along a dusty, narrow
Snake Bit, It Runs in the Family. Read More »
I was watching an episode of The Wonder Years the other night. In it, the main character, Kevin, was getting picked on at school—and that took me back. Way back. I moved up to Todd County in May of 1974 from Miami, Florida. My family had just bought Grandpa’s farm, and to me, it felt like stepping
“Hold This”—A Story About Respect Read More »